National Theatre Announces Cast And Lineup For Their 2010 Season

NATIONAL THEATRE: JANUARY - MARCH 2010

Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw lead the cast of Boucicault's LONDON ASSURANCE, directed by Nicholas Hytner in the Olivier

Howard Davies directs Bulgakov's THE WHITE GUARD, in a new version by Andrew Upton, in the Lyttelton
A new play by Tamsin Oglesby, REALLY OLD, LIKE FORTY FIVE opens in the Cottesloe, directed by Anna Mackmin

Inua Ellams' THE 14TH TALE visits the Cottesloe

NT LIVE: NATION and THE HABIT OF ART broadcast to cinemas worldwide

Discover: Primary Classics - TWELFTH NIGHT; Platforms and Exhibitions

REALLY OLD, LIKE FORTY FIVE Cottesloe Theatre

Previews from 27 January, press night 3 February, continuing in repertoire

REALLY OLD, LIKE FORTY FIVE, a new play by Tamsin Oglesby, opens in the Cottesloe Theatre on 3 February, directed by Anna Mackmin. The production will be designed by Lez Brotherston, with lighting by Mark Henderson, video design by Mark Grimmer with Lysander Ashton, choreography by Scarlett Mackmin and sound by Christopher Shutt. The cast is: Lucy May Barker, Paul Bazely, Amelia Bullmore, Tanya Franks, Gawn Grainger, Thomas Jordan, Michela Meazza, Judy Parfitt, Paul Ritter and Marcia Warren.

There are just too many old people. As a government research body seeks to deal with the problems of a maturing population, a family addresses its own. Lyn's memory starts to go, Alice takes a fall and even Robbie has to face the signs of ageing. Relations are put to the test across three generations. As are those who enter the increasingly sinister world of State Care.
Tamsin Oglesby's furious comedy confronts head-on our embarrassment and fear about old age. It exposes a society in which compassion vies with pragmatism and, by asking unequivocal questions, it comes up with some extraordinary answers.
Tamsin Oglesby's plays include Olive for the NT's New Connections; The War Next Door at the Tricycle; US and Them and My Best Friend at Hampstead; and Two Lips Indifferent Red at the Bush Theatre.

Anna Mackmin previously directed Burn, Chatroom and Citizenship at the NT. Her directing credits also include Dancing at Lughnasa at the Old Vic; Under the Blue Sky and In Celebration at the Duke of York's; Dying For It and The Lightning Play at the Almeida; and The Dark at the Donmar Warehouse.

LONDON ASSURANCE Olivier Theatre

The Shell Series: Classic Drama at the National Theatre

Previews from 2 March, press night 10 March, continuing in repertoire

Dion Boucicault's LONDON ASSURANCE opens in the Olivier on 10 March, directed by Nicholas Hytner. The cast includes Richard Briers, Paul Ready, Simon Russell Beale, Fiona Shaw and Michelle Terry. The production will be designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting by Neil Austin, music by Rachel Portman and sound by John Leonard.

Dion Boucicault, the Irish genius of London theatre in the age of Dickens, wrote LONDON ASSURANCE in 1841 and thereby created in Lord Harcourt and Lady Spanker two of the great comic roles for the English stage, played in this new NT production by Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw.

Sir Harcourt Courtley is lured away from the epicentre of fashionable London by the promise of a rich and beautiful bride, Grace, forty-five years his junior. Arriving at Oak Hall, Gloucestershire, he marvels at this rural Venus until her charms are eclipsed by her hearty cousin, the foxhunting Lady Gay Spanker. Meanwhile his disguised son turns up in flight from his creditors and falls head over heels for Grace. When Lady Spanker discovers the young couple, she needs little prompting from the visiting chancer Dazzle to lead Sir Harcourt astray.
Simon Russell Beale's extensive theatre work includes Major Barbara, Much Ado About Nothing, The Alchemist, The Life of Galileo and Hamlet (Evening Standard & Critics' Circle Awards) for the NT; The Winter's Tale and The Cherry Orchard (New York and Old Vic); Monty Python's Spamalot (West End & New York); and The Philanthropist (Donmar Warehouse: Evening Standard & Critics' Circle Awards). He is an NT Associate.

Fiona Shaw is currently playing the title role in Mother Courage and Her Children at the National, where her work also includes Happy Days, Richard II, The Good Person of Sichuan (Critics' Circle Award for Best Actress), The Powerbook, Machinal (Olivier & Evening Standard Awards for Best Actress), The Way of the World and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; other theatre includes Medea (West End & Broadway), Electra (RSC), Hedda Gabler (Abbey Theatre & West End) and The Waste Land (Wilton's Music Hall and international tour).

Since he became Director of the National in April 2003, Nicholas Hytner has directed Henry V, His Dark Materials, The History Boys, Stuff Happens, Henry IV, Southwark Fair, The Alchemist, The Man of Mode, The Rose Tattoo (with Stephen Pimlott), Rafta, Rafta... , Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, England People Very Nice, Phèdre and The Habit of Art.

Shell is delighted to sponsor the third production in The Shell Series (following Much Ado About Nothing and Oedipus). This classic drama series is a great opportunity to support its South Bank neighbour.

THE WHITE GUARD Lyttelton Theatre

Previews from 15 March, press night 23 March, continuing in repertoire

Howard Davies directs THE WHITE GUARD by Mikhail Bulgakov, in a new version by Andrew Upton, opening at the Lyttelton on 23 March. The cast includes Pip Carter, Paul Higgins, Conleth Hill and Justine Mitchell. The production will be designed by Bunny Christie, with lighting by Neil Austin and sound by Christopher Shutt.

Andrew Upton's vigorous new version of Mikhail Bulgakov's rarely performed masterpiece, unrivalled in its depiction of the near-farcical mayhem of civil war across a vast and vivid canvas, follows Howard Davies's productions of the Russian epics Burnt by the Sun and Philistines.
In Kiev during the Russian civil war, the Turbin household is sanctuary to a ragtag, close-knit crowd presided over by the beautiful Lena. As her brothers prepare to fight for the White Guard, friends charge in from the riotous streets amidst an atmosphere of heady chaos, quaffing vodka, keeling over, declaiming, taking baths, playing guitar, falling in love. But the new regime is poised and in its brutal triumph lies destruction for the Turbins and their world.

Andrew Upton's stage adaptations include Gorky's Philistines for the National Theatre; The Cherry Orchard, Hedda Gabler, Don Juan and Cyrano de Bergerac (all for Sydney Theatre Company, where he is joint artistic director with Cate Blanchett); and screenplays of Jane Smiley's novel Duplicate Keys and Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. Original works include Riflemind and The Hanging Man (Sydney Theatre Company), and the screenplays Bangers and Gone.

Howard Davies is an Associate Director at the NT, where his recent productions include Burnt by the Sun, Gethsemane, Her Naked Skin, Never So Good, Philistines, The Life of Galileo, The House of Bernarda Alba, Mourning Becomes Electra and (in 1998) Bulgakov's Flight.

THE 14TH TALE Cottesloe Theatre

9 February - 13 March, 10 performances only

Fuel presents THE 14TH TALE, written and performed by Inua Ellams, visiting the Cottesloe Theatre for 10 performances only from 9 February - 13 March. It is directed by Thierry Lawson, with lighting by Michael Nabarro.

THE 14TH TALE is a free-flowing narrative that tells the hilarious exploits of a natural born mischief growing from the clay streets of Nigeria to rooftops in Dublin, and finally to London.

Inua Ellams vividly recreates the characters that punctuate his upbringing in deft and beautiful poetry, while challenging the audience's expectations of what it is to be a young, black male in London today.

Inua Ellams was born in Nigeria in 1984 and moved to the UK as a teenager. His work merges visual art, spoken word and theatre. He has performed in a wide variety of venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Tate Modern, The Albany, The Drum, Theatre Royal Stratford, Glastonbury and Latitude. He is working on a second collection of poems, following the publication of his first, Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales, which was supported by Arts Council England.

THE 14TH TALE is a BAC Scratch Commission with Apples & Snakes. A London World Festival Commission, funded by Arts Council England.

Discover: Primary Classics 16 - 27 February

Following the success of last year's production of Macbeth, Carl Heap returns to direct his own version of Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT. The National Theatre's touring production for younger audiences is suitable for schools and families with children aged eight and above.

Seven actors play multiple characters and instruments in this engaging and inventive production.
TWELFTH NIGHT has set and mask design by Miriam Nabarro, costume design by Mila Sanders. The mask and movement coach is Marcello Magni, with music by Joe Townsend
See page 9 under Discover for related workshops for children and families during the run. TWELFTH NIGHT tours London primary schools from 18 January - 26 March.
Primary Classics is supported by: The Behrens Foundation, The Ernest Cook Trust, The Ingram Trust, The MacRobert Trust, Peter Minet Trust and the Topinambour Trust.

NT LIVE: NATION and THE HABIT OF ART

NT Live is the National's new initiative to broadcast live performances of plays onto cinema screens worldwide. Following the hugely successful screenings of PHEDRE and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, the next shows in the pilot season will be NATION, based on a novel by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Mark Ravenhill, at a matinee performance on Saturday 30 January; and Alan Bennett's new play THE HABIT OF ART, with Richard Griffiths, Alex Jennings and Frances de la Tour, on 22 April.
The performances are filmed in high definition, using innovative digital technologies to broadcast them via satellite to over 320 cinemas in 21 countries, including over 75 cinemas across the UK. For a list of participating cinemas, visit www.ntlive.com
NT Live is funded in partnership with Arts Council England and NESTA, and supported internationally by Travelex.

NT Live Nation is supported by The Michael Marks Charitable Trust. NT Live is supported by The Northern Rock Foundation.

PRODUCTION AND CASTING UPDATES
THE HABIT OF ART

As previously announced, following Michael Gambon's withdrawal from Alan Bennett's new play due to minor ill health, the role of W H Auden will now be played by Richard Griffiths. The full cast of Nicholas Hytner's production, opening in the Lyttelton on 17 November, is: Tom Attwood, Laurence Belcher, Danny Burns, Martin Chamberlain, Philip Childs, Frances de la Tour, Otto Farrant, Toby Graham, Richard Griffiths, John Heffernan, Alex Jennings, Barbara Kirby, Elliot Levey, Adrian Scarborough and Stephen Wight.

EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR

Following a sell-out run in 2009, Tom Stoppard and André Previn's EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR returns to the Olivier Theatre for a limited run of 41 performances from 9 January to 17 February 2010.

Directed by Felix Barrett and Tom Morris, with design by Bob Crowley, lighting by Bruno Poet, choreography by Maxine Doyle and sound by Christopher Shutt, EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR is a co-production with Southbank Sinfonia, Britain's young professional orchestra, conducted by Simon Over.
The cast includes Jonathan Aris, Lizzie Barker, Julian Bleach, Jason Cheater, Pandora Colin, Shea Davis, Sarah Dowling, Conor Doyle, Geir Hytten, Rob McNeill, Emily Mytton, Wesley Nelson, Peter Pacey, Fernanda Prata, Vinicius Salles, Adrian Schiller and Dan Winter.

THE CAT IN THE HAT at the Young Vic

Katie Mitchell's production of Dr. Seuss's THE CAT IN THE HAT transfers to the Young Vic from 28 January to 13 March, at 10.30am and 1.30pm daily; public booking is now open. www.youngvic.org The cast is: Paul Arends, Luisa Guerreiro, Sandra Guerreiro, Helena Lymbery, Justin Salinger and Angus Wright (in the title role). Please NB: the Cottesloe run is sold out; returns only (no day seats).

PLATFORMS

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/platforms

6pm (45 mins), £3·50/£2·50 unless stated; * = platform followed by booksigning
Terry Pratchett 19 Jan, Olivier

One of our most imaginative writers talks about his work, as Nation continues to play in the Olivier.

The Annual Jocelyn Herbert Lecture

Richard Eyre: Less is More 22 Jan, Olivier, 5.30pm

In memory of designer Jocelyn Herbert, the former director of the National Theatre gives the first annual lecture to celebrate the role of the theatre designer.

Felix Barrett and Tom Morris on Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

25 Jan, Olivier, 5.30pm

As Tom Stoppard's play for actors and orchestra returns to the Olivier, the directors discuss the production.
Luise Rainer 1 Feb, 7pm (1hr 15mins) £5/4, Olivier

Actress Luise Rainer celebrates her 100th birthday in January. In a specially extended Platform she reflects on an extraordinary career: discovered by Max Reinhardt and serenaded by Charlie Chaplin, she was the first person to win back-to-back Best Actress Academy Awards in the 1930s for The Great Zeigfeld and The Good Earth, married playwright Clifford Odets, and campaigned for Brecht to leave Nazi Germany. She also discusses the political and social changes she has witnessed over the course of a century, with Christopher Frayling.

David Dimbleby * 3 Feb, Lyttelton

David Dimbleby's The Seven Ages of Britain uncovers the story of how British art reflects our history and heralds the major events of each era.

Anna Mackmin and Tamsin Oglesby on Really Old, Like Forty-Five

5 Feb, Cottesloe

Tamsin Oglesby talks with her director Anna Mackmin about this new play.

Stephen Sondheim 17 Feb, 5.30pm, Olivier

Stephen Sondheim's work includes West Side Story, Follies, and Sweeney Todd. Marking his 80th birthday, he talks about a life spent meticulously ‘putting it together'.
Tony Benn* 19 Feb, Olivier

Letters to my Grandchildren is Tony Benn's impassioned correspondence to the next generation to help them avoid the mistakes their parents and grandparents made and to fan "the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope."
Rattigan Revisited* 24 Feb, Cottesloe

Terence Rattigan was one of our most important playwrights, whose work fell hugely out of fashion in the 1950s. Biographer Geoffrey Wansell discusses this abrupt dismissal, his recent reappraisal and a life of concealment.
Alison Chitty 2 Mar, Cottesloe

To coincide with the NT exhibition (see below), one of our leading theatre designers talks about her illustrious career.

John Humphrys* 29 Mar, Lyttelton

John Humphreys, presenter of Today and Mastermind, has just published his seventh book, and has decided that's quite enough to be going on with. He reflects on the journalist as author and political interrogator, and why he decided to write a funny book after dealing with such weighty subjects as social change, industrial food production, the English language, God and death.

David Hare* 14 April, Lyttelton

David Hare's first full-length play, Slag, opened at Hampstead Theatre on 6 April 1970. To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of his debut, and the sixteen plays he has had performed at the National Theatre, he talks about his long life as a dramatist.

A Study of Art

Discover more about the poet and the composer at the centre of Alan Bennett's The Habit of Art. These extended Platforms combine performance, analysis and discussion to offer a deeper understanding of their life, work and artistic legacy.

A Study of Art 1: Benjamin Britten

Sat 20 Feb, 10.30am (2hrs), Lyttelton, £10

With the soprano Elisabeth Meister. Chaired by Genista McIntosh.

A Study of Art 2: WH Auden

Sat 27 Feb, 10.30am (2hrs), Lyttelton, £10

With former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, and Paul Kent, academic and colleague of Auden's from Oxford. Chaired by James Naughtie.

Valentine's Day Film

The Apartment

Sun 14 Feb, 6pm, FREE

Projected onto the National Theatre Flytower, best viewed from the Baylis Terrace, level 2.

Wrap up warm with a loved one and enjoy a free outdoor screening of Billy Wilder's wry, bittersweet comedy. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine give career-defining performances as the struggling insurance clerk and the plucky elevator girl whose fledgling romance is caught up in the dodgy reality and duplicity of 1960s office politics. (1960, dir: Billy Wilder, 125 mins).

And from the bar, to enjoy on the terrace...

The Frosty Jack - two glasses of pink prosecco and a box of Turkish Delight. £10

The Sizzling Shirley - two Irish coffees and a box of dark chocolates £10

EXHIBITIONS

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/exhibitions

Stage by Stage, a permanent exhibition on the National's history is in the Olivier Circle, plus a changing programme throughout the year, FREE to attend.

Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year 2009

5 December - 24 January

This popular annual award, now in its third year, culminates in a stunning exhibition of photographs that express the spectacular beauty and diversity of our country whilst also reminding us of the need to protect this precious inheritance. A full-colour book of the winning entries will be available at the Bookshop.

Seeing Landscapes - Awards founder Charlie Waite talks about his approach to landscape photography and the exhibition on 8 & 9 December and 12 & 13 January. Book online or call 020 7452 3000.

In association with Natural England and the English National Parks Authorities.

Stranded 13 January - 14 February

Lalla Ward paints with threads, draws with stitches, makes pictures with fabric, cares about biology, loves island flora and fauna, and is captivated by the evolution of animals stranded in isolation. Having once been an actor, she comes back to the theatre but on a different stage: one of visual image, strands of silk and cotton, colour and texture, an archipelago of stitched pictures. From a world of illustration and ceramics, she moves into a material world and brings her love of animals and their habits and habitats to this exhibition of thread paintings.

Alison Chitty: Design Process 1970 - 2010 1 February - 28 March

Every designer works in a different way, and this exhibition shows us the process of award-winning theatre designer Alison Chitty. Director of the renowned Motley Theatre Design Course, she has designed for the theatre for 40 years in many performance spaces, from small studios to international opera houses and also for film. Using landmark productions to show how Chitty works, including The Voysey Inheritance, Khovanshchina, and The Minotaur, the exhibition follows her process, from the first sketch book to final designs. This is a unique opportunity to see work normally only to be seen in the studio, rehearsal room and workshops.
Sergei Paradjanov through the lens of Yuri Mechitov 22 February - 28 March

To Yuri Mechitov, Paradjanov was not only one of the world's greatest filmmakers but also a close friend, an inspiring teacher and, quite simply, an extraordinary man. This exhibition is composed of rarely seen photographs taken by Mechitov during their

11-year friendship, as well as some of the most famous pictures staged by Paradjanov himself. The moments captured by Mechitov's camera reveal a kaleidoscope of amusing situations, contrasting moods, remarkable filmmaking occasions and expressive backdrops. Yuri Mechitov has exhibited all over the world and has recently published Sergei Paradjanov: Chronicle of the Dialogue. This is the first showing of his work in the UK.

Discover: National Theatre

A range of events, workshops and ways to get involved with the National Theatre, for people of all ages.
Twelfth Night family workshops: 16, 17, 19 & 20 February

The Primary Classics production of Shakespeare's most captivating comedy will be explored through a range of games and creative activities. Workshops are designed specifically to help introduce younger members of the audience to Twelfth Night before seeing the production in the Cottesloe Theatre.

Suitable for all the family age 8 years+ (children must be accompanied by adults, and adults accompanied by children). Tickets £3.50.

Replay/Reveal

Members of the NT's technical team reveal what happens behind the scenes.

8 February: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

26 March: Nation

3.30 - 4.15pm, tickets £4.50/£3.50 Suitable for age 12+.

Masterclasses

Leading NT artists and practitioners offer an insight into their work.

5 March: Sound with Gareth Fry and Lighting with Jon Clark

11 March: Writing with Tamsin Oglesby (Really Old, Like Forty Five) and Sebastian Born, NT Associate Director, Literary

2.30 - 5pm, £3.50/£2.50 Suitable for age 15+.

To book, call 020 7452 3000.

For further details on all Discover activities - including insights into NT productions for schools and Theatreworks courses for teachers - and to view short films about selected NT productions, an Online Tour of the NT, and the Making Theatre section visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover

Public phone/online booking for new productions in the January - April season opens on 2 December.

Book tickets online at www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Box Office: 020 7452 3000, open 9.30am - 8pm Fax: 020 7452 3030

Information: 020 7452 3400

AUDIO-DESCRIBED PERFORMANCES AND TOUCH TOURS FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE

The National offers a free touch tour before each Saturday audio-described performance:

a chance to visit the set, feel the props, meet members of the company, and to enhance enjoyment of the show. Tours must be booked in advance by calling the Box Office: 020 7452 3000.

The Habit of Art Friday 22 January at 7.30pm, Saturday 23 January at

2.15pm (touch tour at 12.45pm)
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour Friday 5 February at 7pm, Saturday 6 February at 3pm

(touch tour at 1.30pm)
Really Old , Like Forty Five Friday 26 February at 7.30pm, Saturday 27 February at

7.30pm (touch tour at 6pm)
Nation Saturday 27 March at 2pm (touch tour at 12.30pm)

The Power of Yes Saturday 17 April at 2.15pm (touch tour at 12.45pm)

STAGETEXT® CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING

Nation Saturday 20 February at 2pm

The Habit of Art Wednesday 13 January at 7.30pm, Sunday 31 January at

3pm

Pains of Youth Tuesday 19 January at 7.30pm

The Habit of Art Sunday 31 January at 2.15pm

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour Saturday 13 February at 3pm and 7pm

The Power of Yes Wednesday 24 February at 2.15pm

Really Old, Like Forty Five Wednesday 17 March at 7.30pm 

Photo credit: Walter McBride